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CHILDREN of AMERICA 


Copyright, 1930, by 

THOMAS S. ROCKWELL COMPANY 

CHICAGO 


©CIA 31023 

A,. , - 

of'T 24 !930 

Printed in United States of America 



▼ 

CHILDREN of AMERICA 

IN PICTURE STRIP 

By 

FRANCES CAVANAH 

with pictures by 

BARBARA MAYNARD 

▼ 


THOMAS S. ROCKWELL COMPANY 

CHICAGO 1930 









Pocahontas, Indian Princess 


Captain Smith of the 
Jamestown colony, Vir¬ 
ginia, was to be put to 
death by an Indian tribe. 
Pocahontas, Chief Pow¬ 
hatan's daughter, begged 
that his life be spared. 


So Powhatan made the 
gallant John Smith a 
member of his tribe that 
long-ago day in 1607, and 
promised that henceforth 
the white men and the red 
men should be friends. 


The colonists would have 
starved that winter, had 
not Pocahontas brought 
them food. When some of 
the Indians planned an at¬ 
tack, she risked her life to 
warn them. 


















and Friend of the White Man 


Her bravery was poorly 
repaid. After Captain 
Smith returned to Eng¬ 
land, with the help of 
Indian traitors she was 
made captive; so no Indian 
would dare attack the city. 


In Jamestown she grew to 
womanhood, much loved 
and visited often by her 
people. She married John 
Rolfe, and now indeed 
were the red men and the 
white men friends. 


In England, whence Poca¬ 
hontas sailed with her 
husband, she again saw 
Captain Smith. The brave 
Indian princess was hon¬ 
ored everywhere and she 
was received at court. 































The Children of the Mayflower 


Three hundred years ago 
a gallant band of Pilgrims 
sailed in the Mayflower 
that they might worship 
God in their own way. 
Love Brewster was among 
the children. 


They anchored in Cape 
Cod in November, 1620, 
but the women remained 
on board, while the men 
and older boys found a site 
and built rude huts in the 
snow to shelter them. 


Many died from cold and 
starvation during that 
first hard winter. Love 
and his brother waited on 
the sick, carrying food and 
spadefuls of fire to cold 
and cheerless hearths. 







































and the First Thanksgiving 


The settlers grew better in 
the spring and were visited 
by Indians. With Chief 
Massasoit they made a 
treaty, and they smoked 
the pipe of peace to show 
they would be friends. 


Of all the Indians Squanto 
was the one the children 
loved the most. He taught 
them many things, to fish 
and plant the red man's 
maize, and he helped their 
fathers set out crops. 


In the autumn of 1631, the 
Pilgrims celebrated the 
first American Thanksgiv¬ 
ing in gratitude for the 
large harvest. The Indians 
shared the feast the chil¬ 
dren helped prepare. 



































The Pioneer Children 


One day during the French 
and Indian War, Mr. Kil- 
burn, Mr. Pike, and their 
sons were reaping wheat, 
when the dog warned 
them of approaching In¬ 
dians. They hurried home. 


They had scarcely barred 
the door when the cabin 
was surrounded by 300 
Indians under their leader, 
Captain Philip. With war 
whoops he called on the 
Kilburns to surrender. 


Each man and boy stood 
behind a loophole in each 
side of the cabin. “Bang!” 
went their rifles. Young 
John Kilburn's mother 
and sister were kept busy 
loading extra guns. 




















Who Fought the Indians 


When ammunition ran 
short, John's sister hung 
up a blanket to catch the 
Indian bullets falling 
through the roof. She 
melted these and made 
new bullets for the guns. 


The Indians aimed for the 
loopholes, but only once 
did they succeed, slightly 
wounding Mr. Pike. Be¬ 
lieving there were many 
men defending the house, 
they finally slunk away. 


Three children rejoiced, 
for they had helped to 
drive away 300 Indians. 
Soon afterwards the 
French and Indian War 
came to a close, and in 1763 
there was peace again. 










































Three Frontier Girls 


To the stockade which 
Daniel Boone built on the 
Kentucky River came his 
wife and daughter, 
Jemima, in 1775. The 
women were always safe 
inside the fort. 


One day Jemima and her 
friends, Frances and Betsey 
Callaway, growing care¬ 
less, left the stockade to 
paddle across the river. 
They did not see the In¬ 
dians hiding on the shore. 


Suddenly an Indian seized 
the rope that hung from 
the bow of their canoe. The 
girls screamed, but no one 
heard them as they were 
dragged off into the 
woods. 
































Who Outwitted Their Captors 


Through the thick canes 
and brush they went, but 
when the Indians were not 
watching, the girls tore off 
bits of their clothing and 
dropped twigs from the 
bushes on the ground. 


That night their absence 
was discovered at the fort, 
and at dawn Daniel Boone 
and his scouts began the 
search. Their sharp eyes 
soon found the trail the 
girls had wisely made. 


For thirty miles they pur¬ 
sued them before they 
sighted the red men's camp 
fire. At the sound of their 
guns the Indians ran away. 
Thus Jemima and her 
friends were rescued. 

-w 






















The Boy Who Spread Glad Tidings 


''Will they dare sign?” 
whispered the crowds out¬ 
side the State House in 
Philadelphia, where July 
Fourth, 1776, delegates had 
met to consider the Decla¬ 
ration of Independence. 


Old Andrew McNair, the 
bell-ringer, asked his 
grandson to wait on the 
stairs and give him the sig¬ 
nal the instant the Declara¬ 
tion was accepted, so that 
he might ring the bell. 


Hours passed, while the 
delegates debated if they 
should sign the paper 
which would declare the 
colonies a nation. It was a 
daring move, but they were 
daring men. 








































the First Independence Day 


A delegate opened the 
door. “Ring, Grandpa! 0 
cried the boy, and the bell, 
forever to be known as the 
Liberty Bell, rang out the 
joyous news to the waiting 
people of Philadelphia. 


The Declaration was read 
aloud to the happy 
throngs, and riders has¬ 
tened to spread the tidings 
throughout the United 
States, as the colonies were 
thereafter to be called. 


Far into the night the peo¬ 
ple celebrated, and An¬ 
drew McNair s grandson 
was very proud and glad. 
Thus July fourth came to 
be observed as a great na¬ 
tion's birthday. 
































The Antic Drummer Boy, 


During the American Rev¬ 
olution, Colonel George 
Rogers Clark marched 
against the fort at Vin¬ 
cennes, Indiana, hoping to 
end the Indian attacks en¬ 
couraged by the enemy. 


The February thaws had 
come, but the courageous 
soldiers danced and sang 
around the camp fire every 
night. The drummer, 
David Ritchie, always 
made the others merry. 


They crossed plains deep 
in icy water, but David sat 
on his drum and cried, 
“Steer my boat/' The sol¬ 
diers laughed. “Rivers 
can't stop us,” they 
shouted and pressed on. 



























Hero of Vincennes 


But they hung back when 
they reached a river where 
they must wade up to their 
necks in water. A day's 
march would bring them 
to Vincennes, but they 
were too tired to go on. 


'‘Forward! Sing!" shouted 
the colonel, pretending it 
was all a lark. David beat 
the charge and led the sol¬ 
diers in a rollicking song 
as they plowed through the 
icy stream. 


The fort, taken by surprise 
that winter day in 1779, 
surrendered. By keeping 
up the soldiers' courage, 
the little antic drummer, 
as Colonel Clark called 
David, saved Vincennes. 























The Girls Who Pretended 


Rebecca Bates, with her 
friend, Sarah Windsor, saw 
a British warship from the 
window of her fathers 
lighthouse. “Look!” she 
cried. “Our American sol¬ 
diers are miles away.” 


This was during the War 
of 1812, in Scituate Harbor, 
Massachusetts. The fright¬ 
ened townspeople saw the 
enemy soldiers rowing 
toward shore and setting 
fire to every boat. 


The women fled to the 
woods, but the men gath¬ 
ered to make the best de¬ 
fense they could until help 
came from Boston. They 
were afraid the soldiers 
might burn the town. 














































To Be an Army 


“I have a plan/' whispered 
Rebecca, taking up the vil¬ 
lage drum her father had 
brought home to mend. 
Sarah had a fife and very 
quietly they stole away be¬ 
hind the sand dunes. 


Suddenly the British were 
startled by the sound of 
fife and drum. “Hark!” 
they exclaimed. “The 
American soldiers are 
marching from Boston. 
We must hurry to escape.” 


Little did they guess the 
fife and drum were played 
by two small girls hiding 
behind the dunes and mak¬ 
ing as much noise as they 
knew how. Rebecca and 
Sarah had saved the town. 

































The Girls Who Crossed the Plains 


In 1846 covered wagons 
carried Eliza Donner, her 
family, and several neigh¬ 
bors, from their old homes 
in Illinois across the plains 
to make new homes in far- 
off California. 


All went well at first but 
they suffered many hard¬ 
ships in the desert. Once 
while Eliza and her sister 
slept, the rear axle broke 
and they were pinned be¬ 
neath the wagon. 


In saving them, Mr. Don¬ 
ner hurt his hand. This 
meant delay, and they 
were caught in a blinding 
snowstorm in the Sierra 
Mountains with only a 
small supply of food. 


















In a Covered Wagon 


They passed the winter in 
a rude shelter, suffering 
much cold and hunger. 
Mrs. Donner refused to 
leave her sick husband, but 
she sent the girls on with a 
rescue party. 


After many hardships the 
children, now orphans, 
reached Sutter's Fort, 
where gold was afterwards 
discovered. A kind shop¬ 
keeper, seeing they were 
hungry, gave them food. 


His wife carried them a 
basket of food and adopted 
Eliza as her own child. 
Eliza grew to be an old 
lady in California and 
never tired of telling boys 
and girls of the early days. 



































Belle Boyd, a Heroine 


Belle Boyd, a brave Vir¬ 
ginia girl, one day in 1862, 
tried to deliver a secret let¬ 
ter to General Jackson, but 
Federal detectives forced 
her to return to a town oc¬ 
cupied by Union men. 


One day she heard firing in 
the distance, for the Con¬ 
federates were advancing. 
Belle had information 
which would save them 
from defeat but no one 
would take a message. 


So she herself went, run¬ 
ning across fields where 
Federal pickets, retreating 
before the Confederates, 
opened fire. Her clothes 
were riddled by bullets, 
but she was unhurt. 







































of the Confederacy 


At last she reached Gen¬ 
eral Jackson’s lines. She 
told him what she knew of 
the position of the Feder¬ 
ate, urging that his cavalry 
seize the bridges the enemy 
planned to destroy. 


When Belle returned to 
town the Southern army 
was already marching 
through the streets, hurry¬ 
ing after the retreating 
Federate. The soldiers 
cheered her as they passed. 


The enemy withdrew and 
the Confederates were 
saved, because of Belle’s 
bravery. It was a proud 
day when she received a 
letter of thanks from 
Stonewall Jackson. 





















Tad, the Young Lieutenant 


Everyone loved Tad Lin¬ 
coln, though visitors were 
often shocked by his 
pranks. He once drove his 
goats, hitched tandem to 
a chair, through the East 
Room of the White House. 


‘Tadpole/' as his father 
called him, was the Presi¬ 
dent's constant compan¬ 
ion and greatest comfort 
during the trying years of 
Civil War. Few days passed 
without a romp together. 


Secretary of War Stanton 
made the boy a lieutenant 
of the United States Vol¬ 
unteers and gave him a 
regular uniform and gun. 
Tad drilled his recruits on 
the White House lawn. 

























and Son of a Great President 


In the theater Tad was as 
much at home behind 
scenes as in his father's 
box. Finding a costume 
one evening, he joined the 
chorus on the stage while 
the audience cheered. 


Just before the war closed 
in 1865, Tad went with his 
father to Richmond. 
“Hallelujah! Massa Lin- 
kum!” shouted the grate¬ 
ful Negroes, cheering the 
man who had freed them. 


The war over, joyful 
throngs gathered to hear 
the President s last mes¬ 
sage. As he read, the sheets 
of the manuscript fell one 
by one, and Tad was there 
to pick them up. 




























The Boy Inventor 


When Thomas Alva Edi¬ 
son was twelve years old, 
he became a candy butcher 
on a train. Every day he 
spent his spare hours be¬ 
tween runs reading in the 
Detroit Public Library. 


In leisure moments he fit¬ 
ted up an unused portion 
of the baggage car as a lab¬ 
oratory. Most of his earn¬ 
ings he spent for chemicals 
and apparatus and experi¬ 
mented nearly every day. 


Once the car caught on fire 
when a bottle of phos¬ 
phorus was overturned. 
The angry conductor ex¬ 
tinguished the flames, but 
also boxed the boy's ears 
and put him off the train. 


































Now Galled a Wizard 


Then he set up a labora¬ 
tory at home and became 
interested in electricity. He 
and a chum rigged up a 
telegraph line and learned 
to send messages. Every 
night they practiced. 


When he rescued the little 
Mackenzie boy the grate¬ 
ful father offered to teach 
h i m telegraphy. Thus 
Thomas Alva Edison be¬ 
gan his career as electrical 
wizard of the world. 


In 1929 the nation cele¬ 
brated the fiftieth year of 
the incandescent light. 
Edison pretended he was 
again a candy butcher, sell¬ 
ing to the famous friends 
on their way to honor him. 





































When Dick Byrd was 
only twelve years old he 
went around the world 
alone. Sailing westward 
to visit a family friend in 
Manila, he returned by 
traveling eastward. 


Dick Byrd, Hero 

At Annapolis he was the 
hero of the midshipmen. 
When they cheered him 
at a football game, he said, 
'There were eleven heroes 
on the team. I didn't make 
that touchdown alone." 


Dick's ambition was to be 
a naval officer. He was 
disappointed later when 
he was retired from active 
duty because of an injured 
foot. During the World 
War he learned to fly. 







































of Land, Sea, and Sky 


Then he became America's 
great ace and explorer. In 
1926 he and Floyd Bennett 
flew from the base they 
had established at Spitz- 
bergen and circled the 
North Pole in their plane. 


For twelve years Byrd had 
dreamed of flying the At¬ 
lantic. Fog forced his 
plane, the America, down 
off the coast of France, but 
a nation welcomed him for 
his brave attempt. 


But his greatest achieve¬ 
ment was flying over the 
South Pole in 1929. Flere 
he dropped an American 
flag. Byrd shared the credit 
with his men and was hon¬ 
ored by the world. 












































































































































